You know what's sad? I have learned MORE from you and Eric O. than I have from my own father and/or family. i am 52 years old, 53 next month and I thank both you and Eric.
Awesome patience & perseverance. Glad you didn’t edit out your struggle in getting the old strut out. As a DIY’r, I hate videos that make jobs look 10x easier than they actually are.
If you want to know truly how long a job really takes, ask the office manager, she watches without any edits, like did he leave the socket on the sway bar bushing bolt?
@@johnchambers12 I was waiting for gravity to take over on that one as he brought the lift down, but I guess he may have been sneaky and got in there to retrieve it already! It would otherwise surely have fallen off as he climbed in the tailgate.
It's great to see that Ray has customers waiting in the wings. That bodes well for future success. Success is only assured through hard work, dedication, and great customer service - along with integrity in all that you do.
Eric O has this long hockey stick shaped steel bar that gives more leverage to pull control arms down. It goes below the control arm and has a hook at mid length to snag the control arm. Old school but it seems to work great.
I got stuck in the trunk of my 04 Corolla when replacing my struts. My neighbor was walking his dog and was nice enough to pull me out. 😆 Im about 6’2” and 270lbs. Im jealous of all the room Ray had back there.
I'm shocked you could even fit yourself inside. I have to say, all the years I used to work on cars. I never felt the need to fully climb inside the trunk to do shocks. Wasn't there a manual release inside the truck you could have pulled? As far as I know, most cars have a manual release inside just in case of something like locking yourself inside the trunk or being kidnapped.
@@jbdragon3295 I wasnt clear. The lid wasnt closed, I just got my feet wedged in just so and couldn’t get out. Two of the nuts were reachable from the back seat. The other had to be gotten from the trunk.
In my experience, i learned to not replace OE parts unless they fail. Like the front struts in this video. Because, the aftermarket parts do not last that long. Just my experience.
There are some....well used to be...good OE parts suppliers. For years I used Tokico struts 'blues' as replacements on Japanese brand cars. Wonderful product. Unfortunately the company that produced Tokico struts sold their suspension parts division to a private equity firm. I have no idea if they are still worth buying.
Especially batteries. How come the batteries in two new vehicles I've bought have both lasted more than ten years but replacements struggle to reach half that?
Main issue with doing aftermarket quick struts with some manufacturers usually Honda is strut mounts bind and steering wheel stays to whatever direction it's turned and doesn't fully return to center rec replace struts using OE strut mounts and aftermarket struts most others manufacturer not an issue and Alot have lifetime warranty with steering and suspension parts
Between the video title and the reality that engine lost 1,000cc of displacement. 😆 Can we also take a moment to appreciate the owner of the vehicle for labelling everything that had a service done, thus making the mechanic's life easier?
CRVs opened the door to "looks like a SUV but is really a bloated car with indigestion" - terrible vehicles oveall. under engineered. Sadly, so many "SUV"s fall in this category now.... tyvm CRV
I gave my son a toolbox and made him buy his own tools because he wouldn't put mine back where they belong. A place for everything and everything in its place.
👏🛠😅 "Your patience and perseverance throughout the video is truly commendable. It's refreshing to see an honest portrayal of the challenges involved in DIY projects. I appreciate that you didn't edit out the struggle of removing the old strut. It's important to show the reality of the tasks at hand, rather than making them appear deceptively easy. Keep up the great work and thank you for providing valuable insights for fellow DIY enthusiasts!"
So my son, 18, just bought a 69 Ford Galaxy. Needed a power steering belt. No problem. I laughed my ass off, and we did it so well we had to do it twice..🤣🤣🤣 I need a pry bar..."More pry bar!" Was said, as I was the pry bar.... and my son tightened the bolt. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@desotosky1372 for the year is in impeccable shape!! It's does have some rust, only one what I call bad at the rocker panel where the chrome wheel trim was. But other than that it freakin sweat! I'm stupid jealous!🤣🤣
That didn’t sound like a blower squirrel cage issue that sounded like an inexperienced person let the debris that had collected on the top of the cabin air filter to fall into the heater box. Troy is your assistant as well as you are his on occasion. Thus it is a good shop for Troy to learn in!
Man do i love quickstruts. I replaced them on my girlfriend's 98 taurus and it was so easy to do. No compressing the spring, no stress of taking the spring off and it launching across the garage. Just out with the old and in with the new.
Having recently done suspension work myself for the first time, it was interesting to see some of the differences (and similarities) of a vehicle with a slightly different setup.
I'm going to butcher one of your catch phrases " I'm here because I'm not there " because I want to tell CastorTroy that he fits in extremely well, with the filming, talking and technical skills.
Ray, I noticed that it was mostly only one small segment that lost audio, but with your added commentary, it did not make much difference to me. Maybe you had some funny comments in what could have been the original audio, but this appeared to be completely fine. Thank you for the engagement and commitment to provide us with good entertainment. 😎😊❤ (At least you don't seem to get as many rodent infested cars to deal with as CSW seems to get, that appears to be one of his personal crosses to bear. 😆)
A hook on the top of a piece of rope or strap with like a saddle strap at the bottom allows you to use your body weight to pull down on the suspension while still being able to use both hands.
I hope you don't take this as a knock on you but I have watched your videos faithfully and it seems to me that you used to work so much smarter before you own your own shop. Please take this in the right light. I love watching you videos
If you loosen control arm bolts the tension would release.and you would have more access. But when you tighten them back after installing the strut you have to jack suspension from the bottom to set it at ride height. That would have made install way easier. But you got it!
My lucky day. This weekend's project is a full set of struts for my daughter's 2009 CRV because the left rear is leaking and shot! Please consider doing ball joints on a 2008 F150 FX4 . (Next weekend's project)
Hi Ray, your videos are always informative and amusing. I am surprised that you do not have an endoscope that plugs into a smartphone USB=C port. I got one off Amazon and it works really well and is like 12 ft long.
19:30....a jeep compass rear upper control arm got me that way last week...i ended up having to torch off the nut and used the nut and bolt that came with the new one to get it back on (for some reason they sent 2 nuts and 2 bolts )
“Was it a bolt or a nut? And does look like this?” I laughed until I cried! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 You guys are SO entertaining. I love your Channel - and I don’t even like cars that much. 🤷🏻♂️
You most definitely deserve a day or two off. Well earned and well deserved. Now that your pretty much set up you should take more to be a dad and husband (never forget time with family). We are here for you and we don’t want to see you burned out (EVER). I’m sure that I’m not the only one here that thinks your the best
we did my shock absorbers a few days ago and would you believe it the spares shop gave us a wrong spring and they were shut so it had to be another day, thanks for the video
Put a loop of ratchet strap around the end of the suspension arm and stand on it to pull the arm down. A whole body weight is more than you can apply with a bar and a strap is less likely to slip out of position keeping those oh so vital fingers attached to your hands.
I did my one and only neutral drop, in my '61 Buick Invicta...Blew up the constant velocity joint.Would have cost more to fix it than I paid for the car, back in the '70s.
I know only to well this problem. Front Skoda Fabia struts, off no probs, back on and it caught, tap with hammer and bang, smashed my index finger broken tip. Power of springs.
I had to chuckle at what we call the old “drive drop” (neutral drop). A group of buddies “borrowed” without permission one of their grandfathers small ranger pickup and went joyriding and raising hell. They were an hour from home doing burn outs egging one buddy the driver to do better so he pops it in neutral revved the engine tight and pulled her down in first gear. He felt something not right and got sick to his stomach when he looked in the side mirror and rear wheels not turning. They had someone tow the truck back to the grandfathers house and pushed it back into the garage like nothing ever happened 🤣
I had a few deceptive fasteners on some cam adjustment Bolts on the rear lower control arms of a 07 4runner yesterday come to find out the lowet control arm rear cams were replaced with aftermarket cams and bolts and the Front lower Control arm cams and bolts were orginal so the rears the cam was welded to the bolt head and had nuts and the fronts the cams are welded to the nuts and the Bolts are loose and not the adjusters ended up warping the bolt head on the rears with breaker bar torque thinking the hulk put them on lmfao 😂 and I have done that job thousands of times by the book even have the shop manuals and sure enough shop manual was correct but parts were wrong.. @Rainman Ray's Repairs
I would love to see you use the oil vacuum tool on thise last bits of oil especially on the oil flushed engines. I know you like me don't need a clear oil jug but using a 5 and 1 quart jug for filling is very satisfying.
You know what's sad? I have learned MORE from you and Eric O. than I have from my own father and/or family. i am 52 years old, 53 next month and I thank both you and Eric.
Woohoo who else looks forward to their daily dose of Ray?
Every day!
Every day
Me!!
Me
Best channel on youtube!
Awesome patience & perseverance. Glad you didn’t edit out your struggle in getting the old strut out. As a DIY’r, I hate videos that make jobs look 10x easier than they actually are.
If you want to know truly how long a job really takes, ask the office manager, she watches without any edits, like did he leave the socket on the sway bar bushing bolt?
Did you get the socket
@@johnchambers12 I was waiting for gravity to take over on that one as he brought the lift down, but I guess he may have been sneaky and got in there to retrieve it already! It would otherwise surely have fallen off as he climbed in the tailgate.
It helps also to do it not you're self and let a garage handle it.
I have had persistent AC leaking issues for years and watching you videos. I changed the Schrader valves and that solved my issues - Thanks' Ray.
34:38 if you are missing a socket, i think I know where it is. Enjoy your videos. It’s very relaxing and educational to follow along 🙂
It's great to see that Ray has customers waiting in the wings. That bodes well for future success. Success is only assured through hard work, dedication, and great customer service - along with integrity in all that you do.
Eric O has this long hockey stick shaped steel bar that gives more leverage to pull control arms down. It goes below the control arm and has a hook at mid length to snag the control arm. Old school but it seems to work great.
T-Roy has been a lot of help for you. Need him in more videos
He has a very calm and cool attitude, highly approved.
I got stuck in the trunk of my 04 Corolla when replacing my struts.
My neighbor was walking his dog and was nice enough to pull me out. 😆
Im about 6’2” and 270lbs.
Im jealous of all the room Ray had back there.
I'm shocked you could even fit yourself inside. I have to say, all the years I used to work on cars. I never felt the need to fully climb inside the trunk to do shocks. Wasn't there a manual release inside the truck you could have pulled? As far as I know, most cars have a manual release inside just in case of something like locking yourself inside the trunk or being kidnapped.
@@jbdragon3295
I wasnt clear. The lid wasnt closed, I just got my feet wedged in just so and couldn’t get out.
Two of the nuts were reachable from the back seat. The other had to be gotten from the trunk.
In my experience, i learned to not replace OE parts unless they fail. Like the front struts in this video. Because, the aftermarket parts do not last that long. Just my experience.
There are some....well used to be...good OE parts suppliers. For years I used Tokico struts 'blues' as replacements on Japanese brand cars. Wonderful product. Unfortunately the company that produced Tokico struts sold their suspension parts division to a private equity firm. I have no idea if they are still worth buying.
Especially batteries.
How come the batteries in two new vehicles I've bought have both lasted more than ten years but replacements struggle to reach half that?
Depends on the manufacturer. I've had aftermarket parts last much longer then OE. If you use cheap parts you can't expect them to last.
Main issue with doing aftermarket quick struts with some manufacturers usually Honda is strut mounts bind and steering wheel stays to whatever direction it's turned and doesn't fully return to center rec replace struts using OE strut mounts and aftermarket struts most others manufacturer not an issue and Alot have lifetime warranty with steering and suspension parts
Between the video title and the reality that engine lost 1,000cc of displacement. 😆
Can we also take a moment to appreciate the owner of the vehicle for labelling everything that had a service done, thus making the mechanic's life easier?
Wow no warning lights. That is a rare vehicle for Ray. Glad you got a break but so glad to have you back at it.
😂😂😂 somebody signed the driver side pillar behind the cover for the Rear Strut nuts @18:17 @Rainman Ray's Repairs
"More pry bar!" One of my favorite Ray-isms.
I just went through the same exact process with my 07 CRV. I can say all of your criticisms were exactly what I was saying haha. Great work!
CRVs opened the door to "looks like a SUV but is really a bloated car with indigestion" - terrible vehicles oveall. under engineered. Sadly, so many "SUV"s fall in this category now.... tyvm CRV
I always get nervous when he drives over that bridge. It's a jeep thing I guess. 😮
Nice all the tools in their correct locations neatly stowed. Call me impressed!
I gave my son a toolbox and made him buy his own tools because he wouldn't put mine back where they belong. A place for everything and everything in its place.
5S principles...
Did you go back and get the socket you left hanging on the bolt at 34:39?
I don't think he did. when he lowers the car you can see Troy picking up the impact and the GoPro and the socket is still missing at that point.
Rather than all the taking off of sway bars,etc....I always just used a spring compressor,to get the room.
thankyou Ray and yet another brilliant challenging upload 👍👌
Good morning Ray hope you had a good memorial Day 3 day weekend @Rainman Ray's Repairs
👏🛠😅 "Your patience and perseverance throughout the video is truly commendable. It's refreshing to see an honest portrayal of the challenges involved in DIY projects. I appreciate that you didn't edit out the struggle of removing the old strut. It's important to show the reality of the tasks at hand, rather than making them appear deceptively easy. Keep up the great work and thank you for providing valuable insights for fellow DIY enthusiasts!"
So my son, 18, just bought a 69 Ford Galaxy. Needed a power steering belt. No problem.
I laughed my ass off, and we did it so well we had to do it twice..🤣🤣🤣 I need a pry bar..."More pry bar!" Was said, as I was the pry bar.... and my son tightened the bolt.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Make memories with that vintage Galaxie.
Wow, 54 y/o car, First car when I was 18 was a '64, Galaxy, they don't last 54 years in upstate NY.
@desotosky1372 for the year is in impeccable shape!! It's does have some rust, only one what I call bad at the rocker panel where the chrome wheel trim was. But other than that it freakin sweat! I'm stupid jealous!🤣🤣
@@michaelray5595 223, 289, or 390? All good engines IMO. Hope he enjoys it.
@@desotosky1372 390
Thanks Ray for making our days better with your videos, keep up the good work.
With love from Europe ✌️
That didn’t sound like a blower squirrel cage issue that sounded like an inexperienced person let the debris that had collected on the top of the cabin air filter to fall into the heater box. Troy is your assistant as well as you are his on occasion. Thus it is a good shop for Troy to learn in!
quite clear troy needs plenty of "learning" - start with: "stahp with jeeps and expecting it to go well" LOL
I see the Wife Unit job description has been updated. And Ray said he would never install an auto gate opener.
Having to manually open and close that gate every time you wanted to go on a test drive has to get old pretty quickly. Especially when it's raining!!!
@@jbdragon3295 She said they hired her an assistant. Must have been on break.
Troy is a great addition to your shop! Very good!!
And the ladies love rainman ray's repairs!😂
I like the mechanic work but the shop talk and friendship makes the videos good
Man do i love quickstruts. I replaced them on my girlfriend's 98 taurus and it was so easy to do. No compressing the spring, no stress of taking the spring off and it launching across the garage. Just out with the old and in with the new.
Well now that you have described how to do neutral drops there will be some transmission shops getting an increased business.
I just wanna be the first to say that is a far cry from my rusted Honda CRV, and 90% of the cars I work with in Michigan lol. Liked the video!
Having recently done suspension work myself for the first time, it was interesting to see some of the differences (and similarities) of a vehicle with a slightly different setup.
Thanks!
I really enjoy your A/C videos and what considering that’s the only thing that I’m not comfortable touching you’ve taught me a lot
Because of you i'm gonna have to watch the movie again. WOOOOOOoooooooo!!
glad to see you took a few days off
All work & no play make Ray a dull boy
12:30 We have that exact same A/C machine, and it always says 0 oil recovered. Good call on checking the marks on the bottle.
For ever so brief, it's always nice to see the Wife Unit. 😉
Everybody saw you leave the socket on the bolt except you.
Naaaaw I saw it too ☺️
I'm going to butcher one of your catch phrases " I'm here because I'm not there " because I want to tell CastorTroy that he fits in extremely well, with the filming, talking and technical skills.
Hope you had a good and enjoyable weekend last week, I am fine with it that you took a well deserved break.
The struggle is sometimes very real … well done 👍
There is a lever tool (hockey stick) to pull down those control arms. Learned that on SMA.
I watched a video on the success of your channel. I'm so proud for you, the wife unite, and kid units. Success comes to those that earn it. You have.
Finally a crv. Only 77k, my 2016 now has 97k. Only needed fluid changes, 2 batterys and a starter so far.
Rainman Ray - "Got any more?"
Honda CR-V - Challenge accepted; Hold my beer...
Thanks for acknowledging us ladies!
Hope you got your socket off that left side sway bar bolt. Great video. Keep up the good work.
Ray, I noticed that it was mostly only one small segment that lost audio, but with your added commentary, it did not make much difference to me. Maybe you had some funny comments in what could have been the original audio, but this appeared to be completely fine. Thank you for the engagement and commitment to provide us with good entertainment. 😎😊❤ (At least you don't seem to get as many rodent infested cars to deal with as CSW seems to get, that appears to be one of his personal crosses to bear. 😆)
A hook on the top of a piece of rope or strap with like a saddle strap at the bottom allows you to use your body weight to pull down on the suspension while still being able to use both hands.
You beat me to it - loop a ratchet strap and sit or stand in it. If you need more weight use an assistant and a length of 4x2 instead of a pry bar.
I hope you don't take this as a knock on you but I have watched your videos faithfully and it seems to me that you used to work so much smarter before you own your own shop. Please take this in the right light. I love watching you videos
I've noticed this too! With all the bills to pay it appears he might be rushing his work more than in the past...
Ive learned alot from ray and changed some bad habits in my personal garage
"Just tap it in... Just tap it in. Give it a little tappy. Tap-tap-taparoo..."
Hope you had a good memorial day I always look forward to watching your videos lol 😆
If you loosen control arm bolts the tension would release.and you would have more access. But when you tighten them back after installing the strut you have to jack suspension from the bottom to set it at ride height. That would have made install way easier. But you got it!
My lucky day. This weekend's project is a full set of struts for my daughter's 2009 CRV because the left rear is leaking and shot!
Please consider doing ball joints on a 2008 F150 FX4 . (Next weekend's project)
Could've used a spring compressor on both sides (of strut) with weight on vehicle on struts, Ive done that ,but to each their own.
Was thinking the same thing
@6:07 there is bull joint cover crack i have that on my seat ibiza and tracking back to normal.
That’s how I changed my fogs in my jk Ray. Just dropped the sway bar instead of pulling the bumper. 😂
Hi Ray, your videos are always informative and amusing. I am surprised that you do not have an endoscope that plugs into a smartphone USB=C port. I got one off Amazon and it works really well and is like 12 ft long.
No more days off! I can't handle the withdrawal 😂😂😂😂
19:30....a jeep compass rear upper control arm got me that way last week...i ended up having to torch off the nut and used the nut and bolt that came with the new one to get it back on (for some reason they sent 2 nuts and 2 bolts )
Nice Dances with Wolves reference, "Put that in your book"
Attempt number AGAIN! He likes his job so much he does it AGAIN!
That's a mighty nice gate mechanism ya got there Ray. Where can I get myself one of those?
High quality Schrader tool!
I replaced a rear strut on my Prius. I didn't replace both because it was replaced just before I bought it. One of the springs however broke.
“Was it a bolt or a nut? And does look like this?”
I laughed until I cried! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
You guys are SO entertaining. I love your Channel - and I don’t even like cars that much. 🤷🏻♂️
Music is a nice touch. I like it
Happy Hump Day Ray.
NICE.. Over come any obstetrical with help. Thanks Ray DVD:)
You most definitely deserve a day or two off. Well earned and well deserved. Now that your pretty much set up you should take more to be a dad and husband (never forget time with family). We are here for you and we don’t want to see you burned out (EVER). I’m sure that I’m not the only one here that thinks your the best
Can't agree more!
Your oil change music is excellent. 😮
we did my shock absorbers a few days ago and would you believe it the spares shop gave us a wrong spring and they were shut so it had to be another day, thanks for the video
Nice supplementing bro!😉
"Thank you dahling" :-)
Look! You are approaching 600,000 subscribers.
Put a loop of ratchet strap around the end of the suspension arm and stand on it to pull the arm down.
A whole body weight is more than you can apply with a bar and a strap is less likely to slip out of position keeping those oh so vital fingers attached to your hands.
looks as if whoever assembled that rear strut originally was so proud as to have signed his work.
Hey Ray, count your sockets. If you're missing one with a red stripe you may find it at 34:38.
Being a prep cook for 19 years, it killed me to hear him say "quarter of a quart" instead of one cup.😂
I did my one and only neutral drop, in my '61 Buick Invicta...Blew up the constant velocity joint.Would have cost more to fix it than I paid for the car, back in the '70s.
Ray did you get your socket back it was on the left sway bar mount bolt. It came off your gun
KYB. Because it’s OEM for Honda/Acura, Mazda and Toyota/Lexus so we know it’s the best!
I know only to well this problem. Front Skoda Fabia struts, off no probs, back on and it caught, tap with hammer and bang, smashed my index finger broken tip.
Power of springs.
Under the seat, Ray! Roll back the tape! Haha!
I had to chuckle at what we call the old “drive drop” (neutral drop). A group of buddies “borrowed” without permission one of their grandfathers small ranger pickup and went joyriding and raising hell. They were an hour from home doing burn outs egging one buddy the driver to do better so he pops it in neutral revved the engine tight and pulled her down in first gear. He felt something not right and got sick to his stomach when he looked in the side mirror and rear wheels not turning. They had someone tow the truck back to the grandfathers house and pushed it back into the garage like nothing ever happened 🤣
"Quick strut" Its life is over quick.
I had a few deceptive fasteners on some cam adjustment Bolts on the rear lower control arms of a 07 4runner yesterday come to find out the lowet control arm rear cams were replaced with aftermarket cams and bolts and the Front lower Control arm cams and bolts were orginal so the rears the cam was welded to the bolt head and had nuts and the fronts the cams are welded to the nuts and the Bolts are loose and not the adjusters ended up warping the bolt head on the rears with breaker bar torque thinking the hulk put them on lmfao 😂 and I have done that job thousands of times by the book even have the shop manuals and sure enough shop manual was correct but parts were wrong.. @Rainman Ray's Repairs
Ray as always nice video I see why Troy is helping you now you can blame things on him lol. He seems like a great person.
Gr8t job Ray. Thank you for your videos I'm learning as u go
Need more clearance Clarence!
Have to get your vector Victor first, Roger Oveur. Yah for Airplane.😂😂😂
@@kenore4003 🤣
Sneaky funny phrase today was the “Neutral drop” 😂😂😂😂😂
You have a great day Ray🎉
I broke one of the welded on nuts before so I used it as a regular nut after
Next time Ray, on the rear, take the 2 bolts out from the hub to lower wishbone for access to remove/fit the shock.
I do believe that blower fan it is the bearing that was blown. I replaced mine on a dodge ram. Then you have no noise issue.
Ray ! Cool 😎 video
I would love to see you use the oil vacuum tool on thise last bits of oil especially on the oil flushed engines. I know you like me don't need a clear oil jug but using a 5 and 1 quart jug for filling is very satisfying.
Sometimes you can use a spring compressor to gain some space instead of disconnecting more parts
I was thinking the same, and it would have been a lot faster too.